Longsuffering.
Do you know what it means to be longsuffering?
–adjective
1.
enduring injury, trouble, or provocation long and patiently
Pasted from
To endure - long and patiently. As children we believe we are longsuffering when we have to endure the hardship of going to school. You remember that don't you? The hour after hour of sitting in a classroom, watching the clock tick down the long hours until that bell of freedom would ring and we'd be allowed to leave the school and go home. Then of course we had to suffer through homework and sometimes we'd definitely classify that as being longsuffering. We suffered long, enduring seemingly unjust punishments for what seemed to us to be miniscule disobediences on our part. Remember being grounded? Boy, did we suffer. As we grew up and joined the work force there came a whole new meaning to longsuffering, yes? Long, hard days spent toiling away - again spent watching a clock just waiting for the work day to be over.
Of course we all know what it's like to suffer to some to degree, right? We also know that plenty of people suffer a lot more than we do.
Now, do we know what it's like to be longsuffering towards another person? A lot of us can relate to this on a family level, right? We endure the nonsense of our family and never disown them because they are family. Unlike perhaps friendships that we've let slip away because who needs to suffer long in a bad friendship, right? Of course some friendships are worth being longsuffering for, but there may come a time when an abusive friendship just isn't worth the suffering and it's better to give up on it rather than let it destroy you, yes?
Ultimately most of us know what it is like to be longsuffering towards others, but can we really compare any longsuffering we've endured to what God has endured with us?
Some might believe that because God has the power to destroy us and not put up with us that He isn't really longsuffering. Some believe that God allowed us to be this way and shouldn't have, it's all His fault that we are the sinful creatures we are so He must not be enduring anything long and patiently. There are a lot of people who don't even care about God suffering- long or otherwise, because He's God and God doesn't have to suffer. In fact if *they* were God, if they had the power of God they wouldn't spend that time enduring the nonsense of others for anyone or anything- they'd just fix things.
We in our finite thinking cannot truly fathom the depths of God's reasoning. We are the CREATURES! For creatures to question their Creator, why it's really unthinkable. We get the idea that because we can reproduce we are sort of creators. We recreate over and over again, I personally recreated another human being twice. But I had NO hand in anything other than being a vessel for that creation inside me. I didn't form the tiny heart, the teeny tiny brain, those precious little fingers and toes, I had no part in it other than allowing it to take place inside of my body. I couldn't control one bit how that baby grew within me. So while we may allow creation to form within us we did not and do not have any claim whatsoever to the design of the human being. As parents however we want what's best for our children. We want our children to respect us, to be obedient to us. We want our children to be happy, to learn to become productive adults and start families of their own to carry on this grand design of human beings. As parents we are allowed to enter into a fraction of understanding of how God feels towards us, His human creation- truly the One who brought us into existence. We have an analogy for this from Jesus--
Mat 7:11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
And this from Paul--
Heb 12:9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
We know what it's like to give good gifts to our children, we want to do this! We want to be able to give our children good things. If we who are sinfilled want to do this- how much more GOD wants to do that for us- HIS children. We are His creation, much more than that though, He has made us His children! The animals are His creations but He is not their Heavenly Father, the angels are His creations but they are not His children! We have such a SPECIAL, such a UNIQUE role as human beings.
That second verse there- we have had fathers which have corrected us- we have, haven't we? I know I had a father who corrected me and I learned to respect Him. He was a person just like me with many faults, a sin-filled human being just like me, and I still respected Him. How much more, seriously, how much more should we long to be in subjection to our Heavenly Father! A heavenly Father who abhors sin and a heavenly Father who loves us so much He made a WAY for us to abhor sin just as He does and to cling to the Sinless One, obtaining forgiveness through the Sinless One.
God promised a way of Salvation and before Christ was born, lived, and died to confirm that promise, people could live in hope of that Promised One. After Christ was born, lived, and died people could live in hope of the confirmation of that Promised One. Before and after we had to and must live by faith in God and God's promises. However many- millions and millions since the first man was created- have chosen to disobey God, to disobey their heavenly Father. If our Heavenly Father, if our Creator weren't the full embodiment of love itself then we as a human race would have been wiped out long ago, just as man has time and time again fought against each other wiping each other out because one man gets it in their head that they are superior to another. It is only sinfilled man that can begin to believe they have the right to take another's life. God wills that ALL would come to repentance. But will all do so? No. Have all done so? No. Time and again since that first sin man has rebelled against God, they've rebelled against the only One who truly loves them. Because of that rebellion many have chosen death over life, many have chosen self over God. And though many have done this- right up to a very few not doing this, God still did NOT wipe out all of mankind as being hopeless, unworthy of being saved.
People don't realize that God suffers when we disobey Him, when we choose not to obey Him, not to love Him. As I said before, they don't even believe God can suffer. God is very longsuffering. God endures long with our disobedience, God endures our provocation. God keeps enduring because He's not willing that ANY will perish. Those who will be His are those He is enduring for. There have been and there still are those who long to be God's children. Though they are few and far between they exist and NOT one will perish, all who choose to obey their God, all who choose to accept their Savior will be saved eternally and it is ONLY for these children of God- of which I pray I'm one- that our God endures the disobedience of so many.
Read the following verses-- Our God is very longsuffering.
1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
2Pe 3:15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you
Psa 86:15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.
Isa 30:18 And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.
1Ti 1:16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.
Luk 18:6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
Luk 18:7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
Luk 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
Heb 10:37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
Amazing verses! Amazing!
This is a daunting question though- 'Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh shall he find faith on the earth?'
I pray to God He does find faith on the earth! By His grace! By His love! By His righteousness!
All in Him!
Amen.
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